US TikTok ban Photograph:( Reuters )
A notice filed by TikTok owner ByteDance in federal court showed that authorities had extended the deadline originally set for November 12 to November 27.
The US authorities have granted Bytedance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, a 15-day extension of a divestiture order that had directed it to sell the social media sensation in order to resolve national security concerns.
A notice filed by TikTok owner ByteDance in federal court showed that authorities had extended the deadline originally set for November 12 to November 27.
The Trump administration had claimed that the popular video-sharing app could be used for Chinese espionage, and had threatened to ban TikTok unless it is sold to American investors.
The ban was, however, challenged in the courts.
Under pressure from the US government, ByteDance has been in talks for a deal with Walmart Inc and Oracle Corp to shift TikTok's US assets into a new entity.
President Donald Trump in an August 14 order had directed ByteDance to divest the app within 90 days.
The Treasury Department said on Friday the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) granted the 15-day extension to "provide the parties and the committee additional time to resolve this case in a manner that complies with the Order."
ByteDance filed a petition on Tuesday with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenging the Trump administration divestiture order.
ByteDance said on Tuesday CFIUS seeks "to compel the wholesale divestment of TikTok, a multibillion-dollar business built on technology developed by" ByteDance and based on the government's review of the Chinese company's 2017 acquisition of Musical.ly.
TikTok, which has over 100 million US users, denies the allegations.
Separate restrictions on TikTok from the US Commerce Department have been blocked by federal courts, including transaction curbs scheduled to take effect on Thursday that TikTok warned could effectively ban the app's use in the United States.
A Commerce Department ban on Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google offering TikTok for download for new US users that had been set to take effect on September 27 has also been blocked.